Lanvin and Elbaz have both confirmed he is stepping down from his position as creative director

Alber Elbaz is out at Lanvin. After a stellar 14-year tenure of transforming the label into a top French couture house, he has left the company.

In a statement from Elbaz, he says his exit is based on Lanvin owner Shaw-Lan Wang's decision: "At this time of my departure from Lanvin on the decision of the company's majority shareholder, I wish to express my gratitude and warm thoughts to all those who have worked with me passionately on the revival of Lanvin over the last 14 years; express my affection to all my wonderful colleagues in the Lanvin ateliers who accompanied me, and who enriched and supported my work. Together, we have met the creative challenge presented by Lanvin and have restored its radiance and have returned it to its rightful position among France's absolute luxury fashion houses."

“I also wish to express my profound and deepest gratitude to all of the clients and friends, to the French and international press, and to all those business partners who collaborated with Lanvin, providing us with support since 2001. I wish the house of Lanvin the future it deserves among the best French luxury brands, and hope that it finds the business vision it needs to engage in the right way forward."

Lanvin also issued a statement saying their collaboration with Elbaz has ended and they "would like to thank him for the chapter he has written".

At the helm of the maison, Elbaz catapulted Lanvin into a global luxury label with his draped, playful, feminine designs, turning the century-old house into one of fashion's hottest tickets via his couture creations and affable, ebullient personality. Born in Morocco, Elbaz first worked with Geoffrey Beene in New York, surging onto the international scene when he helmed Guy Laroche in 1996, a stint that earned Elbaz raves and a way into Yves Saint Laurent. After three seasons, Elbaz was fired with Gucci's takeover of YSL and Tom Ford picking up the reins.

The Lanvin split comes less than a week after the departure of Raf Simons from Dior, which fuels the rumour mill that Elbaz could be Simons' successor at the LVMH label. Elbaz is believed to have held discussions with Dior after John Galliano's expulsion in 2011, though no recent talks have been reported.